Gallery: Reasons to be an Aston Martin-holic

Aston Martin is known for its luxurious and exquisitely designed gentlemen's cars.
Pictured: The 2011 Aston Martin Vantage S.

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Aston Martins are stylish and classy...
...yet not over the top.
Pictured: Aston Martin Virage.

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The brand's rich history.
Pictured: The Aston Martin DB2, which was sold from May 1950 through to April 1953.

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The history: Aston Martin's founders.
Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. The two men had previously worked together to sell cars made by Singer and decided to go into business with each other.
The first car to be named an Aston Martin was created by Martin by fitting a 4-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini, named Aston Martin because Martin was racing with it at Aston Hill in the UK.
Pictured: Aston Martin founders, Lionel Martin (L) and Robert Bamford (R).

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The Coal Scuttle, the first Aston Martin to be produced.
The first Aston Martin car was produced in March 1915 at Henniker Place in Kensington, a district of west and central London in England. The production of the car could not continue, however, due to the coming of World War I. Martin joined the Admiralty, while Bamford joined the Royal Army Service Corps, and all of their machinery was sold to an aviation company.
Pictured: 1915 Aston Martin Coal Scuttle.

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Aston Martins are hand-built, hand-assembled, and hand-stitched cars.
Pictured: The interior of an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, first introduced in October 1960 at the London Motor Show.

The history: Multiple ownership changes.
By 1926, both Bamford and Martin had left the company, after financial hardships (multiple bankruptcies) and many funding and ownership changes.

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The history: Aston Martin Motors.
Later in 1926, Bill Renwick and Augustus (Bert) Bertelli and a group of wealthy investors took control of the company, renaming it Aston Martin Motors.
From 1926 to 1937, Bertelli served as technical director and designer. The cars of this era are called the "Bertelli cars", most of which were two-seater sports cars.
Pictured: A 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans.

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The history: Further financial difficulty, more ownership changes.
In 1947, David Brown Limited, under the leadership of Sir David Brown, purchased the company. This was the beginning of the classic of series of Aston Martins bearing the "DB" initials.
Brown had also acquired Lagonda in the same year. Here, the two companies began sharing resources and workshops.

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The Aston Martin DB4 (1958).
The 1958 DB4 was key to establishing the automaker's reputation for being a producer of high-performance luxury "grand touring"-style vehicles.
Pictured: The Aston Martin DB4, sold from 1958 until 1963.

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The famous Aston Martin DB5 (1963).
The DB5 luxury sports car, the first and most recognizable James Bond car, cemented Aston Martin's reputation.
Pictured: The Aston Martin DB5 was released in 1963 as the evolution of the final series of DB4.

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The history: Bankruptcy again, and more owners.
Sold to North American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden in 1975, the new owners put into action a new turn-around strategy to modernize the line. They produced the V8 Volante (1977) and convertible Volante (1978).
By 1980, Victor Gauntlett, an English engineer and car enthusiast, had come into the picture and become executive chairman. In the early 1980s, facing economic uncertainty, the company almost shut down production to concentrate solely on service and restoration.
Pictured: The Aston Martin V8 Volante convertible of the '80s.

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Pre-production Vantage in "The Living Daylights".
Gauntlett even offered up his own pre-production Vantage for use during the filming of the James Bond film "The Living Daylights" (1987).
Pictured: 1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante in "The Living Daylights" (1987).

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Thunderball (1965) - 1964 Aston Martin DB5

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Die Another Day (2002) - 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish

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The Aston Martin DB5 driven by actor Sean Connery as James Bond (007) in the "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" movies on display September 14, 2010 at Sotheby's in New York in advance ot its October 27 sale at the Automobiles of London auction at Battersea Evolution, London. The car is expected to sell for $5 million.

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Rare and exclusive.
Aston Martin owners (especially owners of classic Astons) belong to an exclusive club. Until WWII, only about 700 Aston Martin cars had been made in total. The number of Astons produced between the 20 year span of 1968 to 1988 was approximately 5,000.
Pictured: The 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante.

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The history: Ford, and increased production.
From 1994 to 2007, Aston Martin was part of the Ford Motor Company. Production was increased during Aston Martin's ownership by Ford. In 1995, a record 700 vehicles were produced.
Pictured: Aston Martin motor cars on show in the foyer of the company's new assembly plant on January 23, 2008 in Gaydon, England.

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The sound of the exhaust.
Listen to it here.
Pictured: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

The Aston Martin Art Collection.
The Aston Martin Art Collection, Aston Martin Meets Art, "brings together the finest cars with the creation of the world's most talented contemporary artists," reads the website. Framed prints are available for sale.

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Racing heritage.
Aston Martin, in its iconic blue and orange colours, made its return to international racing in 2005 with the DB9, and, in July of 2010, returned to Le Mans in the LMP1 and GT2 categories.
Pictured: Aston Martin participating in Le Mans 2010.

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Drive one in a video game.
Drive an Aston in one of the many James Bond-themed video games, as well as in many others.
Pictured: A 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato in "Project Gothan Racing 4" (2007).

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Named UK's coolest brand of 2010.
Aston Martin has been named the UK's coolest brand for the fourth time in five years. The annual CoolBrands judging process involves the assessment of over 10,000 brands, cut to 500, from which the top 20 are selected.
Pictured: The 2012 Aston Martin Virage.

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The beautiful curves in an Aston Martin's DBS are as aerodynamic as they are sensual.
Pictured: Aston Martin DBS in Lightning Silver.

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Aston Martin Driving Experiences.
Aston Martin offers a variety of different driving courses to meet the requirements of any Aston Martin owner. These include: performance driving, on track, on tour, corporate driving, on ice, and Le Mans.
Pictured: Aston Martin on ice.

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The V12 Vanquish is featured in the "Breaking Dawn" novel.
The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is featured in the "Breaking Dawn" novel, part of the successful "Twilight" franchise written by Stephenie Meyer.
Pictured: Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.

The crystal ignition key is a work of art.
Instead of a key, new Astons use a "ECU", or emotion control unit. This is a rectangular piece of black plastic capped by a rectangle of crystal with the Aston Martin badge inside. The remote key has lock, unlock and trunk functions, and sinks all the way into the ignition slot until the top of the crystal is flush with the console.

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The DBS's Bang & Olufsen audio system, boasting 1,000 watts, could be the best car audio system in the world.
Pictured: Interior of the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Aston Martin DBS.

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The Aston Martin One-77.
The One-77 is a two-door coupe that first appeared at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, not to be fully revealed until the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Aston Martin says this supercar is moving closer to setting the all-time speed record for the automaker after breaking the 322 km/h mark in initial high-speed testing.
A limited run of 77 units were to be delivered starting in October 2010.

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Half of the engine bay of the One-77 is coated in gold leaf.
The precious metal is an excellent heat reflector.
Pictured: Aston Martin One-77.

The Aston Martin Cygnet is pictured during the second press day at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show on March 3, 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland. The show features World and European premieres of cars, and will be open to the public from March 4th to the 14th.

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This futuristic concept.
Third-year graduate design students at Turin's European Design Institute (IED) were tasked with imagining what Aston Martins would look like in the year 2025. The students came up with multiple concepts, with the one condition being that the technology involved in the design has to be feasibly developable within the next 5 years.
Pictured: One of the concepts submitted for the IED Turin Aston Martin 2025 project, the Aston Martin Vestige concept by Bernardi, Fincato, and Magrini.

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Aston Martins are award-winning.
The supercar brand has won many awards, including: the 2009 GOOD DESIGNTM award at The Chicago Athenauem: Museum of Architecture and Design in North America (for the One-77); Wheels Magazine Supercar of the Year 2010 (for the V12 Vantage); Manufacturer of the Year 2009, automotive magazine CAR Middle East.
Pictured: Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

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Few cars feel as comfortable and stable over 300 km/h as an Aston Martin.
Pictured: Aston Martin V8 Vantage roadster in Glacial Blue.